Firstborne

Firstborne chapter 2

Iris sat on the battlements, her chin on her hands, which were braced against her knees. She stared at the valley spanning out before her, before it was interrupted by the iron gray mountains jutting from the ground, their snow capped peaks looming in the distance over the castle. Cieli and Azrack had left yesterday, around sundown. Iris had not had a chance to interact with the dragon princess again, and she was quite disappointed by that. Life in the walls of the castle was so boring, and talking to dragon royalty certainly broke the monotony. And besides, Cieli was actually nice and open, and Iris had learned that that kind of personality was sparse in the castle. There were people like Valarie, who had made it their personal mission to make everyone's life a living heck. Then there were those like her mother, who loved others, but were so consumed by their duties that they did not have very many opportunities to show it. She still had Lucas, who actually took the effort to interact with her, but he was always so busy at the training yard she barely ever saw him anymore! Iris took a deep breath, and rose to her feet, hopping down from the square block of stone . All of her duties were done for the day, but now she had nothing to do! She meandered absentmindedly across the battlement, staring into space. Maybe she could sneak into the kitchens? That always provided a thrill, as well as the reward of some decent food. But ultimately she decided that it was more trouble than it was worth. If the castle's cook, Master Capian caught you, he would have you washing all of the castle's dishes faster than you could say sorry. And that was a lot of dishes, even for a servant. She continued to wander around the battlement, deep in thought. Then she finally gave up, deciding to retreat to her room for the time being. She descended down flights of stairs and through the castle halls, occasionally running into somebody here and there. Of course, they took as much attention to Iris as they would an ant, and just spared her a glance before they lost interest. She was very much used to this by now, so it did not bother her. But then one person, an adolescent boy with dirty blond hair and grayish green eyes. He was twig thin, but he moved with a swift casual grace. "Iris, wait up!" he called, hurrying toward her. "Hey Lucas." Iris said, surprised. "I thought you were at the training center."

Lucas snorted, rolling his eyes. " I can fight as well as a fish can walk. You know this!"

Iris couldn't help but laugh. Lucas may be annoying at times, but he provided good company.

Her response to his joke seemed to bolster Lucas; he immediately stood taller and his eyes brightened. He walked alongside her, his long legs making for longer strides, so Iris had to speed up her pace to keep up with him. And they chatted the entire way, abusing the center teacher sir Loyde and his abysmal training methods. Before they knew it, they were outside Iri's door, and Iris was inviting Lucas in for some more chatting. She sat on her rickety bed, white Lucas was sitting criss crossed on the cold floor. Lucas was in the middle of telling her about a time when he accidentally shot sir Loyde in the ankle with a practice arrow. (don't worry the tips were intentionally made to be blunt) "And he came stomping over, face red as a beet, and is prepared to let me have it-" he was saying dramatically, tapping his feet rhythmically on the floor unconsciously. "But when he asked me to get back to work, I said

"You got it, Achilles!" he finished, grinning wide. Iris snorted and choked and laughed all at same time, resulting in a gagging cough that sounded like a choking turtle. Lucas leaped to his feet, rushing to help her, but as he rushed over he suddenly let out a yelp and fell forward, flat on his face. Iris let out a cry and leaped off the bed, kneeling beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked, seizing his skinny arm and hauling him into a sitting position. "Yeah, I think so. But-"

His eyes scanned her floor. "What in the world did I trip on?"

Iris looked at the spot he fell, and tapped one of the bricks, which had been knocked slightly from its position, and one of its edges was sticking above the others. "Just a loose brick."